Integrated Watershed Management Programme as new flagship porgramme

In order to make Centrally-sponsored programmes condensed, the Cabinet has approved Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) as a flagship programme of the government.

Why IWMP:

Around 60% of cultivated area across India is rain-fed. Besides, these areas are also blighted by poverty, water scarcity, low productivity, malnutrition and prone to severe land degradation. The watershed development programme has been adopted as a tool to address problems of the rain-fed or degraded areas in the country.

 Key Points of IWMP:

• Launched in 2009-10 by the integration of various area development programmes of the Department of Land Resources, including the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), the Desert Development Programme (DDP) and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP).
• The 12th Plan allocates the programme an additional Rs. 29,296 crore.
• Cost sharing ratio of Central Government : State Government = 90 : 10
• 9% of the project cost is earmarked for development of livelihoods for asset-less people
• 10% of the project cost is for productivity enhancement and development of micro-enterprises for small & marginal farmers.
• An average size of project under the IWMP is about 5,000 ha which is cluster of micro-watersheds.
• A portion of institution &capacity building (5% of the total project cost) has been provided to set up institutional mechanism at State, District, Project and Village levels and to build capacities of stakeholders.
• It also entails involvement of primary stakeholders in the form of grassroots community organisations.

Expected Benefits of IWMP:

The benefits include increase in availability of surface water & groundwater, changes in cropping pattern from one to two crops annually, increase in fodder availability and increase in milk yield, increase in agriculture

What are Flagship Programmes:

Flagship programmes derive their origin from the term flagship which is the main or most important ship of a country’s navy and is symbolic of the main thrust of the nation’s developmental policy. Major Flagship programmes of the Government of India are:

Bharat Nirman: The objective of the Bharat Nirman Programme is to give top priority to rural infrastructure by setting time-bound goals under various schemes to develop rural housing, rural roads, irrigation, rural drinking water and rural electrification. The Programme imposes a responsibility on sub-national governments to create these facilities in a transparent and accountable manner.

National Rural Health Mission: The main aim of NRHM is to provide accessible, affordable, accountable, effective, and reliable primary health care, especially to poor and vulnerable sections of the population. The programme sets standards for rural health care and provides financial resources from the Union Government to meet these standards.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme: The Act was notified on 7 September 2005 and is aimed at providing livelihood security through employment for the rural poor.

Sarva Siksha Abhigyan: This programme was started with the objective of providing elementary education for all children in the age group of 6–14 years by 2010.

Mid-day meal Scheme: The MDM Scheme launched in 1995 aims to give a boost to universalization of primary education by increasing enrolment, retention, and attendance and simultaneously impacting upon nutritional status of students in primary classes.